Fujiya & Miyagi - Ventriloquizzing

With influences as easily discernible - and obviously cool - as Can, Kraftwerk and Bowie, it's tempting to classify Fujiya & Miyagi's sound as more style than substance. And though it kind of is, that doesn't make it any less listenable.

As on their previous albums, the UK four-piece don't stray far from their established model. Emphasizing rhythm more than melody, the songs throb along on funky bass lines, repetitive drumbeats, spacey sci-fi synths and hushed, whispered vocals. It's the kind of sound that inspires adjectives like "chic," "slinky" and, yes, "stylish."

When the songs are as infectious as these, however, it's hard to object. There are a couple of clunkers - Spilt Milk, for one, comes and goes without doing much - but on the whole it's easy to get lost in the album's motorik pulse.